


The end of the line goes both ways

by emmadilla



Series: 30 Day OTP Challenge [15]
Category: Avengers (Comics), Captain America (Comics), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, First Kiss, Injury, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 21:18:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17588597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmadilla/pseuds/emmadilla
Summary: While out on a mission, Steve gets injured, and Bucky comes to terms with what he feels for his friend.





	The end of the line goes both ways

**Author's Note:**

> 30 Day OTP Challenge
> 
> Day 15: Injury

An explosion ripped through the air, throwing both men off of the feet. Bucky grunted as he hit the ground again, his ribs sore and his intact shoulder aching, but he gritted his teeth and got up to his knees and eventually his feet. Steve was likewise recovering, grabbing his shield again and palming the pistol he carried. They both reloaded, eyes sweeping the area as they watched for incoming HYDRA agents.

 

As per usual, this mission was quickly turning into a clusterfuck because of the lack of information provided by SHIELD, but if they failed then guess who got the blame? Not the dick knuckles who should have given them all the info they needed, oh no. If they failed, it was all on them. And so, despite the circumstances, they had to figure out some way to come out on top and complete the mission.

 

So, pretty much just like every other mission.

 

They didn’t have that much time to prepare for the agents, but they had just enough. And, of course, they were Captain America and the Winter Soldier, so they were no pushovers. Steve tossed his shield to knock an agent trying to sneak up on Bucky and likewise Bucky sniped off a couple of agents who were charging at Steve. In the middle of the battle, the chaos, they had a certain rhythm between them, almost like a dance. There was no real rhyme or reason to it, and maybe that was why it worked every time. Both men knew each other so intimately, they knew how the other would move and react to certain things, able to compensate and move because of it. They weren’t just connected at the hip, as the other Avengers like to joke. No, it was like they were connected in the mind, moving as one entity with two separate bodies as they mowed down the rest of the HYDRA agents before emerging from the building, a jump drive containing all the secret files they’d been looking for carefully placed in one of Bucky’s many pockets.

 

The two Avengers weren’t out of the woods, yet, as more agents waited for them on the outside. Ducking back inside for a moment, Steve and Bucky weighed their options and their strategy before they came back out and put it into motion. It was like watching artists at work, taking out enemies left and right, most before they even had a chance to get off a shot. The few that did ricocheted off Cap’s shield or Bucky’s arm, not affecting their target in the slightest. All in all, despite the numbers they faced, it was relatively easy for them.

 

The real danger came when there was just a few guys left, and as Steve took care of two of them, one that Bucky was converging on grabbed a missile launcher. Bucky’s eyes widened, time slowing down as he realised the guy wasn’t aiming at him … he was aiming at Steve. Immediately he brought his rifle up to aim and pulled the trigger, but his gun simply clicked. _Fuck, out of ammo_. Instead of taking the time to reload, he simply threw the rifle to the ground and grabbed his handgun, not wanting to waste any more time than he already had by somehow losing track of how many bullets he’d used.

 

Despite his efforts, however, it was too late. Oh, Bucky’s shot was true, and the guy fell immediately. But before he did, he’d managed to get off a shot, and while it wasn’t as spot on as it could have been, the resulting explosion tossed Steve like a rag doll and when he landed, he just laid there, limp and lifeless. _No!_ Bucky felt like his heart stopped, like time itself paused, as he saw Steve’s body lying there. After a heartbeat’s hesitation - caused only by shock - he ran over to his longtime friend, rolling him over as his fingers desperately searched for a pulse. _There_. He relaxed just slightly to feel it still present, but with the way he was bleeding from his side, Bucky had to act quickly. Assessing the wound, it looked like some shrapnel had lodged itself in there. That, plus his obvious head wound, meant that this was beyond Bucky’s current skill set. Cursing, he hauled Steve up onto his shoulders in a fireman carry and started jogging toward the rendezvous point, praying that for once transport would be on time.

 

By some stroke of fucking luck, the Quinjet was ready and waiting, its crew ready to receive them. They might not have had a full medical team available, but they would be able to stabilise Steve until they got back to the Tower. Ripping off his mask, the only thing he could do was sit there and watch and wait.

 

The next hours were possibly some of the longest of Bucky’s life. The medical team on the Quinjet had to work just to keep Steve stabilised, and he almost teetered out of their control a few times during the flight. Bucky had about five mini-heart attacks before they finally landed at the Tower and whisked away the super soldier to the medical wing for full treatment, leaving the former assassin to his own devices. Which was never a good thing. Bucky could be quite self-destructive when he wanted to be, though this time he simply sat in his darkened room, staring at the wall, unmoving, just waiting. Waiting until he got the all clear that Steve was out of surgery, waiting to hear that his best friend wasn’t dead. Waiting with his heart feeling like it was beating out of control in his throat. Swallowing hard, he thought it ironic how their roles were reversed. He was usually the reckless one getting injured, though normally it wasn’t this bad. Steve was always super careful, cautious, rushing in and yet always taking the time to properly assess the situation. It was … strange to be on this side of things. Strange and uncomfortable.

 

Bucky never wanted to experience it ever again.

 

When surgery was finished and he was given the all clear, Bucky immediately headed to the medical ward. Steve wasn’t even fully out of the anesthesia yet, but he didn’t care. He just … he _had_ to see him, had to hear that heart monitor beeping, had to know he was okay. As much as he couldn’t help it, Bucky shouldn’t have worried, as Steve’s heart beat strong, and as the super soldier finally came out of the haze of anesthesia, he gave his friend a lopsided smile. “Hey, Buck,” were his first words, and Bucky swore everything in his body finally relaxed.

 

“Hey, yourself.”

 

Steve was still trying to gather himself, and he asked, “What happened?”

 

“Agent shot a missile at you, so I put a bullet in his head and then carried you to the rendezvous point.”

 

“All that way?”

 

Bucky nodded. “Yup.”

 

Leaning back on his pillow, Steve noted, “You could have just called in an evac, you know.”

 

The former assassin shook his head. “Would’ve taken too long. Couldn’t chance you bleeding out on me. The team on the Quinjet already had a helluva time keeping you around long enough to make it here.” The reality _really_ started to settle in for him, and he clenched his jaw as he said, “Damnit, Steve, that was too close.” Everything that had been left unsaid between them for so long came rushing to the forefront of Bucky’s mind, and he closed his eyes briefly against the onslaught.

 

“I’m sorry, Buck, I …”

 

Steve didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence, however, as Bucky leaned forward and silenced him with a fierce kiss, laying claim to that which he’d left lying for decades. Steve was surprised, but melted into the kiss, exhilarated and relieved that Bucky felt the same way. As they parted, Bucky looked him directly in the eyes and growled, “Don’t do that again.”

 

Smirking, he replied, “I won’t, as long as you keep kissing me.”

 

And that, Bucky could do.


End file.
